In July of 2012, a routine inspection of the Saint-Louis-De-Blandford strategic maple syrup reserve in Quebec, Canada was being conducted. During the inspection, it was found that some of the barrels that should have been filled with sticky, sweet, maple syrup were empty and other barrels had been refilled with water. Upon further investigation it was discovered that over months, thieves had been stealing millions of dollars' worth of maple syrup. The crime later became known as the Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist. 

Sources: 

Waxman, Olivia B., “What to Know About the Real Canadian Maple Syrup Heist That Inspired The Sticky”, Time, Dec 6, 2024, https://time.com/7200222/maple-syrup-heist-the-sticky-amazon/, accessed Oct 3, 2025. 

Noakes, Taylor C., “Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist”, The Canadian Encyclopedia, Mar 28, 2022, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/great-canadian-maple-syrup-heist, accessed Oct 3, 2025. 

Lyon, Rivy, “ The Great Maple Syrup Heist: How A Ragtag Group Of Thieves In Canada Stole $18 Million Worth Of Maple Syrup”, AllThatsInteresting.com, July 2, 2025, https://allthatsinteresting.com/great-canadian-maple-syrup-heist, accessed Oct 3, 2025. 

Tisdale, Jennifer, “Richard Vallières Was Behind the 2012 Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist — Where Is He Now?”, Distractify, Dec 5, 2024, https://www.distractify.com/p/richard-vallieres-now, accessed Oct 3, 2025. 

“Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Canadian_Maple_Syrup_Heist, accessed Oct 3, 2025. 

"The Maple Syrup Heist." Dirty Money, directed by Brian McGinn, season 1, episode 5, Jigsaw Productions, 2018, Netflix, www.netflix.com/watch/80118100